He urged not only the building of roads and
canals but the establishment of a national university, the support of
observatories, "the light-houses of the skies," and the exploration of
the interior and of the far northwestern parts of the country. He
advocated heavy protective duties on goods imported from abroad, and
asked Congress to pass laws not alone for the betterment of
agriculture, manufactures, and trade but for the "encouragement of the
mechanic and of the elegant arts, the advancement of literature, and
the progress of the sciences, ornamental and profound." He thought
that the public lands should be sold at the highest prices they would
bring and that the money should be used by the Government to promote
the general welfare. He had no doubt of either the power or the duty
of the Government to maintain a national bank.
Since the War of 1812 the Republicans, with whom Adams had been
numbered, had inclined strongly toward a liberal construction of the
Constitution, but none had gone to the limits marked out in this
program.
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